Allon shares jump 24 per cent

Shares in Vancouver’s Allon Therapeutics jumped 24 per cent Monday in the wake of the company’s announcement that its experimental Alzheimer’s drug is undergoing a clinical trial as a potential treatment for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

The drug AL-108 was chosen by Treatment Units for Research of Neurocognition in Schizophrenia (TURNS) for the phase two human clinical trial that will be funded by the United States National Institute of Mental Health.

“The TURNS group is comprised of some of the best minds in psychiatric practice and schizophrenia research in t h e wo rl d t o d ay,” G o r d o n McCauley, president and chief executive officer of Allon said in a release. “For clinicians of this calibre to select and conduct a phase two trial with a product from our pipeline is a significant validation of our technology, especially with the wide range of opportunities that TURNS reviews.

“ Th i s co l l a b o ra t i o n p ro - v i d e s A l l o n a n ew m a rke t opportunity in a chronic indication that is an unmet medical need.”

Allon specializes in the development of drugs to protect against neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, mild cogn i t ive i m pa i r m e n t , s t ro ke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and neuropathy.

The company has two drugs in human clinical trials, AL108 as a treatment for Alzheimer’s and AL-208 for the prevention and treatment for the mild cognitive impairment that commonly occurs fo l l ow i n g co ro n a r y a r te r y bypass graft surgery.

Shares in Allon closed Mond ay o n t h e To r o n t o S t o c k Exchange at $1 . 24, up from Friday’s close of $1.